I stumbled across this link the other day which seems rather ingenious and was wondering if anyone has tried such a contraption whilst hiking? If not, do you think it would be effective? I'm tempted to try to make one and then see how it performs in various temperatures.

I never tried this fridge, but there are a lot of canteens, for example old German military ones, that have a felt cover that works on the same evaporation principle. You keep the felt wet, and evaporation will cool of water in the canteen. In hot weather, it works surprisingly well.
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Jan HlavacekApr 24 '12 at 2:56

Cool idea. I can't fathom wanting to carry it around, but it might help keep things cool (and not gross) on river trips.
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Greg.LeyApr 24 '12 at 20:02

This is a good point - though I guess it's better than nothing?
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berry120Apr 27 '12 at 14:14

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@berry120 -- I'm not so sure. There's kind of a sweet spot for bacteria growth. In very hot climates, this may actually aid bacterial growth by keeping them in that sweet spot instead of getting too hot to continue growth.
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Russell Steen♦Apr 29 '12 at 0:04

Good point..I have taken a safety and sanitation class as well, however the bacteria will produce at higher rates at higher temperature levels in this zone, so it does help. Tons of people in Africa use this cooler every day.